Contact surrounded all aspects of the event and the larger gay community. Media contact specially married with creative messaging supported the cause through: mirror clings in gay bar restrooms that shattered beautiful reflections; consecutive print pages in gay magazines that transformed beautiful facades into broken realities; Crystal Breaks mobile billboards driving throughout the gay neighborhood; creative messaging on bus shelters; haunting TV commercials; and interruptive gay chat room ads driving audiences to support site crystalbreaks.org.

Crystal methamphetamine is a deadly, highly addictive stimulant which has gradually gained more popularity and ruined more lives within Chicago’s gay male community. The aim of the pro bono campaign was to give meth the horrible reputation it deserves within the community and raise awareness of how to get help.

The result? Hope. Within two months, Crystal Breaks saved lives and changed perceptions. 40,000+ website visits accommodated men seeking support. Some men entering recovery centres wore the branded dog tags. The Task Force received significant incremental donations. PR capitalized on national meth scrutiny to garner Task Force supporters.

A staged experience dramatized the stages of meth use. For the high, media lured crowds to a once-in-a-lifetime DJ set at the festival stage. For the low, at the peak of dancing, music was halted by deafening sounds of breaking glass. Simultaneously, actual meth survivors slammed hammers into beautiful “crystal” images to communicate how “crystal breaks.” Lights were raised; warning banners dropped; branded dog tags were handed to shocked attendees. The music never continued.

The most likely introduction to meth use is the city’s club scene; many gay men start using meth because they’re misled by the party “benefits” of lowered inhibitions, boosted confidence and intensified sex. When the party’s over, few ever see meth’s deadly lows such as paranoia, brain damage, tooth loss and how recreational usage quickly escalates into abuse that destroys minds and lives. By infiltrating a huge gay community street festival, the campaign could leverage the allure of the club scene to engage gay men and then shatter their perceptions by introducing them to the horrifying truths of meth use.